Among the quarter-million documents in the latest WikiLeaks release on Sunday, was a secret diplomatic cable from the US Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, about a meeting between Saudi King Abdullah and US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker and US General David Patraeus in April 2008.

According to the leaked document, part of the conversation between King Abdullah and the US officials touched on Saudi attitudes towards Iran, its influence in Iraq and the need to increase pressure on the Islamic Republic.

The cable quotes former Saudi Ambassador to the US Adel al-Jubeir
recalling, "the King's frequent exhortations to the US to attack Iran
and so put an end to its nuclear weapons program. 'He told you to cut
off the head of the snake,' he recalled to the Charge, adding that
working with the US to roll back Iranian influence in Iraq is a
strategic priority for the King and his government."

The document says that the Saudi foreign minister called for "severe US
and international sanctions on Iran, including a travel ban and further
restrictions on bank lending." It added that, "the foreign minister also
stated that the use of military pressure against Iran should not be
ruled out."

In its assessment, the US Embassy cable concluded that the Saudis, "are
eager to work with the US to resist and reverse Iranian encroachment in
Iraq."

Your comment must be approved by a moderator before being published on JPost.com.
Disqus users can post comments automatically.

Comments must adhere to our Talkback policy. If you believe that a comment has breached the Talkback policy, please press the flag icon to bring it to the attention of our moderation team.